On Wednesday, in a move to benefit the central bank's functioning, the Union Government has exempted certain gold items imported by the RBI from customs duty and agricultural cess.
Items like gold-plated with platinum, raw or in semi-manufactured form and in powder form, that are brought into the country by the central bank will now fall outside the pecuniary jurisdiction of customs duty, that is usually levied on such products.
This is a significant concession, as usually gold imports lead to an import tax of 15 per cent. This, after the government increased the import duty on gold and silver findings and on coins to the aforementioned 15 per cent from 10 per cent earlier.
India's gold consumption
After China, India is the world's second largest consumer of Gold. India's average gold consumption stands at 672.4 metric tons, compared to China's 819.86 metric tons. India's gold consumption has only increased over the years.
In the accounting year 2022-23, the Central Bank earmarked an amount of Rs 87,416 crore as surplus to the Union Government.
